Gravel. problems

[kribbman]

I recently changed my substrate from gravel to flourite, I also had an Undergravel Filter installed which i removed. The problem is that After the whole ordeal I ended up with some unforseen problems.
1) food sinks to the bottom of the tank and as it decomposes it grows a cottonlike fluff after a day or 2.
2)pH. shot up through the roof.. I got a CO2 system set up in it. and my ph went from 7.? to about 6. im sure it was in the low 7's before. I noticed because my fish looked kind of distressed. to remedy this I installed the Risers again and pluged the bottom of them with the a cap and a Carbon cartridge. the ph went back down again.
3) When I use my gravel vac it keeps pulling up the finer particles and clogs several times during the water change.
On a lighter note the plants seem to be doing well and the water parameters are fine..
Any advice?
I know kribs are prety resilient but do you guys think they would be ok with a pH hovering around 6?
They looked kind of stressed after the whole gravel change. but im guessing that might have had something to do with a change in their environment and chemical parameters, as there (might) have been a cycle, induced with the substrate change

 

[neilanh]

The cottonlike stuff I don't think I've ever seen before. What kind of food are you using that's doing this?

I'm not sure I understand your pH problem. You said it shot through the roof, but 7.? is the only high value you gave, and that's not that high.

On my planted tanks, I never vacuum the substrate, just change out the water.

The fish stressed is probably due to the changeout process. Let them settle before you worry too much about them.

 

[Alaris]

On my planted tanks, I never vacuum the substrate, just change out the water.

How come?

 

[kribbman]

the Cotton like stuff im sure is some sort of fungus, im feeding my fish sinking granules but i cant remember the brand right now...
As for the pH I said it Shot through the roof, that was a goof on my part..I should have said it droped, I cant give exact values right now because im not home at the moment. but ill post them as soon as
I get there. If I recall correctly the Ph of my tap water is in the high 7 or above the testing threshold of my kit. (aquarium pharmaceuticals liquid PH test.) so It would be pretty close to 8.
Without the bubles in my tank the pH drops to around 6.2

 

[neilanh]

I don't vacuum because the waste converts over to nutrients for the plants.

Kribb, how much CO2 are you pumping into the tank? The CO2 will cause the pH to drop, and it sounds like that's whats happening. When you create bubbles at the surface, you exchanging gases and allowing the CO2 to offgas and equalize with the atmosphere. It sounds to me like you've just got the CO2 injection rate up too high.

 

[pirateshake]

I just set up a 55 gallon flourite black sand tank. When i put in my Corydora's food : Hikari Tropical sinking wafers . the next day any uneaten food also has the same white stuff on it. Also my flake food does too, but i am cycling right now ( kinda ) I just scoop it out. But i was wondering what this was as well. I havnt found anything about it though i havnt really looked

 

[kribbman]

Im really starting to hate this stuff..I know it takes a while to get established and Re-Cycled but my tank just hasnt been the same since I put this flourite in it. Im still having trouble with the food sinking to the bottom and growing a (fungus?) white cottonish halo.. On top of that when I try to clean up a bit with the gravel vac. (im doing that less often now because of the nutrients and all that) It gets clogged with the little pebbles, several times during the water change...

 

[meegosh]

I have a similar issue with the shrimp pellets I feed my corys... I usually just feed smaller portions to make sure they eat all that is given. I would cut your feeding portions down and see if that helps. I'm not sure, technically, what the white stuff is but I've seen it the morning after if I feed them too many pellets.

 

[pirateshake]

I put in an angel fish in my tank with the black sand to hold for a friend, ever sense the fight has been in there, there has been less white fungus. I just add'd all my fish today. well see how it goes

 

[Nomad]

I'll just add to this, that I recently changed to flourite and some of my tiny pellets I feed are growing white cotton stuff on it also.

It must be the flourite causing it.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

i dont add flourite in my tanks... and ive had the fungus grow before.

 

[Nomad]

lol, fair enough.

 

[pirateshake]

Yeah i feed today and no white stuff that i can find. I think all my fish ate the food though. Ill see in the morning

 

[JohnPaul]

If food is sitting in your tank long enough to fungus, you are feeding too much. The general rule of thumb is, "feed only as much as your fish can completely consume in 5 minutes." Sometimes with sinking pellets for bottom dwellers you can't follow that rule perfectly (since they may take a little while to actually "find" the food), but for example if you feed a pellet in the evening, and you wake up the next morning and some of the pellet is still there...that's no good. Next time, feed only half a pellet. Or a quarter pellet. Keep playing around with it until you find an amount that is right.

Also, especially if you have a lot of bottom dwellers, it is sometimes better to break the pellets up anyways. A quarter pellet in four different places is usually better for them than a single pellet dropped in whole (presuming you are feeding, say, a whole group of corys rather than a single, lone bottom dweller).